Liquid atomizing apparatus



July l5, 1952 s. o. RYE

LIQUID ATOMIZING A PPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 8, 1949JNVENTOR. Swen( arf. 9L BY July 15, 1952 s. o. RYE 2,603,533

LIQUID ATOMIZING APPARATUS Filed March 8, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2y Fig. 4

INVENTOR. 57i/hd r K/v,

BY Q. a7' Wm" Maf July 15, 1952 s. o. RYE 2,603,533

LIQUID ATOMIZING APPARATUS Filed March 8, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 J vINVENTOR.

ve y( ay t Patented July 15, 1952 *i1-STAT Es y PArNTfoF'FIcE :LIQUIDA'roii Arrinm'rus 'I y v' Svend Ove RyeQCharlottenlund, Denmark ivrApplication March 8, 1949, Serial No. 80,292 1 i In Denmark March 16,1948 '1o claims. (o1. esagera).

This invention relates to apparatus for atomizlng. liquids and has for`its object to provide liquid atomizing apparatus which will produce aner and more uniform atomization than obtainedwith atomizing apparatuseshithertoin use. f y z' The invention1isapplicable to all elds in which afine and uniform atomization of liquids is desirable such as.for burningliquid fuels, vaporization of liquids, desiccation of liquid materials,andcreating sprays and mists of liquid disinfectants.`

The invention is` particularly applicable to humidifying apparatus forVair in air conditioning plants, to the -atomizing of milk in ydry-milkplants, and tos-the atomizing of oil in oil burners. To these endstheapparatusmay prefer-v ably, but not necessarily,- comprise a bloweradapted to deliver astream of air ork other gas into which the spray -ofatomized liquid is dif rected and dispersed. f

The invention is exemplified by the following description of` anfoilatomizing and burning apparatus fwith. reference to the accompanyingdrawings inwhichz" Fig. 1 -is .a1 sectional elevation of an oil burnerincorporating-the' improved atom-izing means,

Fig; 2 is a. 'diagram drawn to a larger scale and showing the operationof control means,

Fig. 3 is a section partly diagrammatical, along the line III-III ofFig; 1,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 1

omitted, f

Fig. 5 is a'section on theline 'V4-V' of Fig. 1 showing modified-valvemeans,

Fig. 6 isv a yiewsinfiilar.A to Fig. 3, but showing modifiedvalvemean's; and i Figs. 7 gand-8 are sections along the line VII- VIIof- Fig. 6 withv the parts in two different positions.v 1

.Referring to the ldrawings in which like reference numerals'4 designatecorresponding parts throughout' the figures-5B denotes `a base plateadapted tobe'securedffby suitable means (not shown) -toa*domestic'centralbeating boiler or other corresponding` furnace. The-top face of the base plate is providedwith an annular rib 59 upon whichis seated'aA ring 6D of flexible material such as rubber, asbestos orthe like. A

with some .parts pair of annular flanges-6I are clamped betweenl bolts.64 are anchored inthe-base plate Vland provided with nuts 65pressing-upon the ring 63 usy by the intermediaryof springs `66. In,this manner the flangesrlifl and thus the entire apparatus is clampedresiliently tothe .base plate 58.

Mounted in suitable bearings 26,"preferably made fromYaYself-lubrlcating metal or alloy, is a vertical hollow shaft 21carrying between the bearings the rotor 28 of an electric motor thestator of which is denoted by 29 and mounted inthecasi'ng.- l

On the lower end ofv the. hollow.- shaft 21 is secured a'hub 80 of acentrifugal blower-'impeller wheel 35 and a liquidatomizing headdesignatedgenerallybyl. .Y y l y The atomizing head1 comprises in itslower end a liquid ,'chamber.II,.-having a plug I2 with an atomizing jetorifice I3 `situated `in the axis of rotation O of the hollow shaft 21and atomizing head I. Coaxially with the axis O is. situated a`needlevalve I4 which is preferably guided in a self-lubricating plug ina plug I5 yforming the upper wallfof the liquid chamberII, .and actuatedby a compression spring 34 to closethe needle valve again-st the actionof the liquid pressure in the chamber vI-I. The plug I5 has an annulargroove .closed at-the topy and shielded below by anannular discA 9, soas to provide an air trap whichl acts as adash-pot for equali'zingpressure variations inthe chamber ,--II y.during operation.

Liquid is introduced into the chamber I-I under .pressure by Way ofchannels I 0 Iand liquid pumps of the reciprocating piston type. vEach*pump unit `comprises a cover -4 screwed onto' a suitable stud on theatomizing head and confining a pumping space 3remote from thel axis ofrotation. Each'pum-ping space has in the wall nearestto the axis ofrotation a delivery or pressure orifice 6 withan automatic ball-valve 'Iand inlet, or suction orice I1 with a suitable inlet valve of theautomatic type;v One type of inlet valve is shown ink Fig; 5' in theformV of an ordinary ball valve I8 with a closingspring 5I and anothertype of inlet valve is shown in Figs. 6-8. The inner wall of eachpumpingv space likewise comprises aV bore for al pump pistoni, whichbore is preferably 'but not necessarily contained in a plug 2 ofself1ubricating.'metal or alloy. The inner end of each piston 5 iswidenedV to form a foot I9 resting againstl the periphery of a circulardisc 20 made preferably from self lubricating metal or alloy. The disc2D is mounted freely rotatable on a pin 2I which is eccentr-icallymounted on the lower end ofv a control shaft 22 extending ,upwardthrough a station- Var-y tube 23 within the hollow shaft 2-1.` The'ofthepinZL This appears more readily from the diagram in Fig. 2. Thisdiagram shows the disc 2lllv and the inner ends of Ythe pistons 5, Edesignating the axis of the disc 20, O the axis of rotation, and R theaxis of the control shaft 22. In actual practice the disc 20 issubstantially stationary whereas the atomizing head and the pistonsrevolve around the axis O, but in order to facilitate the explanation itis supposed in the following that the atomizing head isstationary andthe disc 20 rotatesaroundthe axisO in the inverse direction. The centerof the disclthereby'describes a circle the radiusof which is defined bythe distance O-E Y and a` reciprocating movement with a stroke amountingto twice this distance is imparted to the pistons 5.' Y

The left hand piston is shown in its outermost and innermost positionswith full and dotted lines respectively. On turning the shaft 22aroundits axis Rthe axis E'of the disc 20 will be shifted'relative tothe axis of rotation O .in such a manner as to vary the distance O-E and.the stroke of the pistons.. .In .the embodiment shown, theeccentricityofthe disc Y2l) against the axis R is made equal to theeccentricity of theVA axis R against the axis of rotation() and thepistonpstroke may therefore be reduced to zero by turning the shaft 22to bring theaxis E tocoincide with the axis O. In j operation theimpeller wheel forces )a stream of air through an annular air duct 36enclosed betweena bottom portion 31 of the apparatus casing 25 and astreamlined shield 38 enclosing the major portion of the atomizing headand the entirepump mechanism. This stream of airy catches the sprayofrator'nized liquid emerging from the jet orifice I3 during operationso as to form in the present caseean intimate mixture of air and veryfinely and uniformly atomized fuel oilexcellently suited for completeand economic combustion. Y l

Inorderl to adapt the amount of air to the very finely adjustable supplyof liquid fuel an air control valve is provided at the air intake of theblower. Theair is drawn in by way of an annular slot between the upperend of the apparatus casing and a cover 3l secured'by asuitable numberof bolts 61. The airvalve is in the form of superposed slotted discs 10and 'H'rotatable in relation to each other in order tov open and closethe slots more or less inwell-known manner. The moving disc 'll issecured to a hub 12 on the upper end of the control shaft 22 in suchy aVmanner as to open and close the air slotsvcorr'esponding to increase andreduction respectively of the fuel supplied to the jet orifice by thepump mechanism.

The slotted'discs l0 and 'H are Vkept in sliding contact at a suitablepressure byV means of leaf springs 13 secured to the casing and pressingWith their free ends upon the uppermost of the stationary discs 10.

The control may be by way of any desired manually or automaticallyadjustabledevice, a Bowden cable 'I4 being shown as an example in Figs.l and 4. The moving part o f the Bowden cable is Wound around the hub l2and counteracted by a com? tion-or pressure valve.

v4 bined compression and torsion helical spring 15 whereas thestationary part of the cable is secured to stationary parts of thecasing in any convenient manner. The other end of the Bowden cable isconnected to a pressure-responsive device of the bellows-type 43 havinga feeler tube 44 leading to some desired feeling point, so as to governtheoutputofthe burneruin laccordance with the temperature prevailing'atthe feeling:` point. For adjustment an adjustment screw 42 is insertedbetween the pressure-responsive device and the Bowden cable withanindicating needle 1liv showing the setting against a suitable scale.

The above described regulating system may of course Vbe modifiedaccording to requirements, and the ccntrol'thereof may be dependent uponother Vfactors than a temperature, e. g. a pressure, a relative humidityetc. depending upon the use to which the atomizing apparatus is put;

In operation the hollow shaft 21 and the atomizinghead with'pump unitsare kept rotating with a suitable velocity, e. 'g- `3000revolutions perminutc,V and liquid is fed by way of a Ibore 48`to the upper end of thehollow shaft21 Whence'it passes through the space between the hollowshaft and the stationary tube 23 down into the hub 8D and throughchannels `lil in thelatter intopa suction space 39 in the atomizinghead.'Y

In the suction space 39 the liquid is'centrifuged outwardsand freed fromair bubbles and thereafter penetrates through the suction channels andvalves into the pumping spaces 3 displacing any air entrapped thereininwardly through the sucprocedure the suction valves may be arranged tobe kept positively opened until the atomizing head has attained itsminimum operative speed of say means of a push rod 53 and a compressionspring 54. The push rod isguided in the suction channel l1 and asuitable bore 56 in the atomizing head. This position is shown in thelower half of Fig. 5

and corresponds to rotational speeds less-than minimum operative speed..At higher speeds' the centrifugal force acting upon a weighted portion55 of the push rod 53 restores the same to inactive position asl shownin the upper half of Fig. 5 thereby allowing the suction ball valve tooperate normally. The valve spring 5l together with a retaining pin 52are located in a slotted tube through which the liquid penetrates intothe pumping space on the suction stroke of the piston.

A corresponding effect is obtainable by' the valve shown in Figs. 6-8.`The valve member is in the form of a leaf spring 'I1 one end of whichprojects over the orifice of the suction channel Il. At lower speeds theleaf spring 'I1 is sub-V stantially straight and doesnot close thesuction channel asv shown in Fig. 7. At higher speeds the centrifugalforce upon the weighted end 'I9 of the leaf spring bends theV spring asshown in Fig. 8, so as tol press it against the mouth of the.'

suction channel. In this condition the spring operates as a normalautomatic leaf spring valve.

While in the foregoing. certain specific embodiments and employmentsVvof the invention have been described it should be understood that theinvention is not limited thereto unless as far as appears from theappended claims. Two pump units have been described; but'one or morecouldV beV employed and diaphragm pumps may ber usedl insteadVv ofpiston pumps. The eccentrically In order to promote this mountedadjustable driving disc for the pump members may be replaced by otherdriving means such asacrank or cam mechanism. Means may be provided forcontrolling the spring pressure upon the jet orifice valve means inorder to adjust the atomizing condition to the properties of the liquid.The blower may be in the form of a screw fan instead of a centrifugalblower, and the blower vanes may be integral withthe atomizing head. Theentire apparatus with or without blower may be mounted in any desiredposition with vertical, oblique or horizontal axis.

I claim:

1. A liquid atomizing apparatus having a rotatable atomizing head andmeans for continuous high-speed rotation thereof,V a closed liquidchamber in said head adjacent the discharge end thereof and providedwith a single restricted .let orifice located at the point ofintersection between one Wall of said` chamber and the axis ofrevolution, pumping means associated and rotating with the atomizinghead for feeding liquid under pressure into said chamber and comprisingat least one pumping space remote from the axis of revolution, inlet andoutlet valve means for said pumping space being provided in the wallthereof nearest to the axis of revolution, centrifugal means beingprovided for` keeping at least one valve means of said pumping spaceopen at less than minimum operative rotational speed.

2. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed inv claim 1 in which saidcentrifugal means comprises a spring-loaded push-rod acting upon thevalve member of the pumping space inlet valve to keep the same open atless than minimum operative speed and weighted to be retracted intoinoperative position by centrifugal force at higher than minimumoperative speed.

3. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which saidcentrifugal meanscomprises a leaf-spring loosely mounted within thepumping space with one end extending over the inlet orifice and theother end Weighted in such a manner as to press the first-mentioned 'endagainst the inlet orifice under the influence of centrifugal forces athigher than minimum operative rotational speed.

4. A liquid atomizing apparatus having a rotatable atomizing head andmeans for continuous high-speed rotation thereof, a, closed liquidchamber in said head adjacent the discharge end thereof and providedwith a single restricted jet orifice located at the point ofintersection between one wall of said chamber and the axis ofrevolution, a reciprocating pump member associated and rotating with theatomizing head for feeding liquid under pressure into said chamber, asubstantially stationary eccentric means being provided in the vicinityof the axis of revolution and cooperating with said pumping member forreciprocating same.

5. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 4 furthercharacterized in that said eccentric means is adjustable as toeccentricity against the axis of revolution.

6. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which saideccentric means comprises a circular disc journalled on a pin carriedeccentrically on a control shaft mounted substantially parallel with andoff-set in relation to the axis of revolution.

7. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 6 furthercharacterized in that the eccentricity of the said disc relative to .theaxis of the control shaft is `substantially equal to the eccentricity ofthe axis of the control shaft relative to the axis of rotation.

8. Aliquid atomizing apparatus having a hollow shaft journalled inbearings and supporting the rotor of an electric motor, an atomizinghead being secured on one end of said shaft and provided with a liquidchamber with a single restricted discharge jet orice located at thepointA of intersection between one wall of said chamber and the axis ofSaid shaft, a liquid pump of the reciprocating pumping member typeassociated and rotating with said head for feeding liquid under pressureinto said chamber, a stationary tube extending through said hollow shaftspaced from the wall thereof and supporting substantially stationaryeccentric means cooperating with said pumping member for reciprocatingsame, and a control shaft for adjusting the eccentricity of saideccentric meansextending through said stationary tube.

9. A liquid atomizing apparatus asA claimed in claim 8 furthercharacterized by an inlet chamber provided in the atomizing headsubstantially coaxially with the axis of revolution, and by passages inthe atomizing head establishing connec tion from one end of the spaceenclosed between the hollow shaft and the stationary tube to said inletchamber, means being provided for conducting liquid into the other endof said space.

10. A liquid atomizing apparatus as claimed in claim 8 furthercharacterized by a blower associated and rotating with said atomizinghead, and a control valve for regulating the blower output associatedwith-and operated by said control shaft for adjusting the eccentricityof the pump member operating eccentric means.

SVEND OVE RYE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,184,659 Ray May 23, 19161,316,745 Safford Sept. 23, 1919 1,748,991 Pierce Mar. 4, 1930 1,996,789Baker Apr. 9, 1935 2,071,143 Scott Feb. 16, 1937 2,220,209 CarpenterNov. 5, 1940

